District police chief arrested on drug charges

KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): A district police chief and his two guards were arrested on Sunday on the suspicion of involvement in drug smuggling in northern Takhar province, officials said.

The Dasht Qala district police chief and his guards were held after counternarcotics police recovered 15 kilograms of drugs from a house in Yangi Qala district, the governor's spokesman told a news conference in Kunduz City.

"Evidence shows the narcotics belong to the district police chief," said Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi. Without going into details, the spokesman said the police official wanted to transfer the drugs to his district.

Provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Shah Jahan Noori, said although the drugs had not been captured with the police chief, he had spent a night at the house. "A team is being sent to Yangi Qala to probe the incident."

The incident came a week after 37 kg of drugs, weapons and cash were recovered from the house of the Dilaram district chief in Zaranj, the capital of southwestern Nimroz province.